CASA of Lancaster and Lebanon Counties celebrated the swearing in of its 47th class of new court-appointed special advocates on April 16. The 16 new advocates make up the largest new class in Lancaster County since 2019. CASA staff members, board members, and community supporters gathered at Evermore Events as The Honorable Jeffery J. Reich swore in the new class of volunteers. The event was the culmination of more than 30 hours of training completed by each volunteer in order to assist children in Lancaster and Lebanon counties' foster care systems.

The new advocates are Jayne Bourke of Lancaster, Fiona Brenek of Morgantown, Danielle DeGroft of Lancaster, Jennifer Dever of Lancaster, Alisha Eagan of East Petersburg, Krista Fawber of Lancaster, Janet Kacskos of Lancaster, Fran Lusaitis of Landisville, Deana Marakowski of Lebanon, Crystal Martin of Brownstown, Lauren Miller of Mount Joy, Shelah Nyveldt of Bainbridge, Jessica Pflugler of Willow Street, Angie Ross of Lancaster, Mark Smith of Palmyra, and Barb Valinski of Lancaster.

Court-appointed special advocates are trained volunteers appointed to advocate for the best interests of children who have been placed in the foster care system because of abuse or neglect. The new advocates will join the other volunteers currently advocating for 167 children in Lancaster and Lebanon counties.

For more information about CASA and what volunteer advocates do, visit http://www.casalancleb.org/volunteer or call 717- 286-1430.